The cryptocurrency market is currently caught between short-term global shocks and the long-term confidence of Bitcoin’s early holders. At the time of writing, Bitcoin [BTC] was trading at $89,490, down more than 3% in the past 24 hours.
The latest decline was caused by growing concerns about global trade after US President Donald Trump threatened new tariffs on eight European countries.
While short-term traders moved money into safer assets like gold, blockchain data revealed that long-term Bitcoin holders remain confident.
Satoshi’s Bitcoin stash
According to According to Arkham Intelligence, Satoshi Nakamoto, the creator of Bitcoin, has now held on to their original Bitcoin holdings for 17 years without moving them. What started at $0 in 2009 grew to $4,500 in 2010, $317,000 in 2011, $5.5 million in 2012, $14.5 million in 2013 and $827 million in 2014.
Through every boom, crash and headline since then, all that Bitcoin has remained untouched. Today, 17 years later, Satoshi’s assets are worth about $100 billion.
This contrast highlights the current mood in the market.
While retail investors may be nervous, stock market data seemed to indicate that the latest sell-off was not random. In fact, it looked more like a planned move by major players.
Bitcoin dumps hard…
In the last 24 hours alone, some of the biggest players in the crypto industry have simultaneously moved large amounts of Bitcoin onto exchanges.
Source:
In total, more than 64,000 BTC was added to the sell side. This sudden increase in supply made it harder for Bitcoin’s price to move higher.
When large institutions and market makers sell at the same time, it often signals a planned move rather than panic.
These actions are usually intended to drive down the price, while also triggering stop-loss orders and forcing highly indebted retail traders out of the market.
Is Satoshi still in the lead?
And yet, despite short-term price fluctuations, Bitcoin ownership remains heavily concentrated among long-term holders. According to According to Arkham Intelligence’s latest blog post, the list of Bitcoin’s largest holders continues to change, but the top spot remains the same.
Satoshi Nakamoto is still the largest holder, with 1,096,358 BTC, or about 5.5% of the total supply.
Following Satoshi’s example is Coinbase, which holds 884,675 BTC, worth about $82 billion, or 4.4% of the total supply. BlackRock is in third place, with $72 billion worth of shares, or 3.9% of the supply.
Strategy and the US government come in fourth and fifth place, with assets of $38 billion and $30 billion respectively.
For its part, Tether holds 96,369 BTC, which represents approximately 0.48% of Bitcoin’s total supply.
A look at signals in the chain
At the time of writing, Bitcoin is dominant was strong with a value of 59.76%. However, other data sets on the chain suggested that retail investors may be becoming less active.
The seven-day average of active Bitcoin addresses has actually fallen since the October 2025 price peak.
Source: Het Blok
In the past, this usually meant that smaller investors scaled back their activities due to fear or uncertainty. However, this trend often takes place just before institutions start to play a larger role.
While the number of active users has dropped, the overall transaction volume through the chain has risen back up the charts.
Source: Het Blok
Such a pattern usually means that large holders are quietly buying while prices are lower.
Simply put, Bitcoin has gone from being worth nothing in 2009 to creating a $100 billion fortune for its creator. This is a testament to the fact that its long-term value is not determined by a few days of negative headlines.
Final thoughts
- Satoshi Nakamoto’s untapped assets continue to serve as Bitcoin’s psychological anchor, reinforcing long-term conviction.
- Stabilizing on-chain volume during a price drop indicates a silent accumulation beneath surface-level volatility.